Space: the new frontier in clean energy

Sci-fi isn’t all fiction anymore. Harnessing the power in outer space is closer than we think, and in just a few years, electrical energy from the sun could be beamed down to charge the smartphone in your pocket.

Think Bluetooth, but on a galactic scale.

The concept dates back to science fiction authors of the 1940s, but it was proposed recently by Air University professors at Maxwell and leading scientists across the globe. The idea is to launch massive solar paneled satellites into outer space. From space, the panels would harness the energy of the sun and transmit it to Earth as clean electrical power.

Solar panels placed in space would allow continuous absorption of solar energy without the hassle of atmospheric and day-to-night disruptions.

Space-based solar power could be used for saving other natural resources, lowering consumer electricity costs and powering Third World countries. The possibilities are endless, and it could all start in Montgomery.

A decade ago, Col. M. V. “Coyote” Smith, while working for the Pentagon’s National Security Space Office, was given a mission to save the world – without any money and a six-month deadline.

He jumped at the challenge.

Now, his team’s revolutionary project on space-based solar power is in the running to win perhaps as much as $10 billion to develop and deploy such systems. This could result in a portion of this development being done here in Alabama – in Huntsville and maybe across the state.

Titled “Carbon-Free Energy for Global Resilience and International Goodwill,” the proposal is one of six finalists selected out of 500 entries for the Department of Defense’s first-time innovation challenge for the D3 [Diplomacy, Development, Defense] Summit.

A decision on the winning proposal will be made Jan. 25 after teams brief the Secretary of Defense, DOD senior leaders, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C.

If selected, the plan may not come to fruition for another decade. Still, the long-term benefits and applications are endless.

Smith said energy that is “broadcast” from space will not only power the grid, but eventually could power everything wirelessly, from household appliances, cell phones, and even transportation.

He also said that, in his opinion, Alabama and the U.S. have the lead in the research, although Europe, China and Russia are working on similar technology.

“Right now, we do have a lead should we choose to use it,” Smith said. “We have the potential of becoming the Saudi Arabia of safe, clean energy for the 21st century.”

The design falls in line with Maxwell’s new Cyber College, spearheaded by Air University’s commander and president Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, to increase national security against cyber attacks.

"We are extremely honored to have been one of the few ideas selected out of over 500 entries. Air University personnel have been championing this idea since our early futures work in the mid-'90s," Kwast said in a release.

Alabama is seemingly an unlikely candidate to station such a powerhouse of energy, but it is, in Smith’s opinion, an ideal location for interested corporations looking to invest in this kind of technology with the close proximity of Huntsville as a “Silicon Valley,” and Montgomery on its way to becoming the next “Gig City,” Smith said.

“I can easily envision this concept having massive appeal to industries who are looking for areas with low cost of living and low property taxes to establish major satellite plants here. This could be where the central control station would be established to operate the satellites that feed electricity into into power grids, not just here in Alabama, but around the globe,” Smith said.

“I’ve already had interested corporations speak with me, who were looking at the Hyundai plant and how attractive their business has become here,” Smith added.

Smith emphasized the project, if approved, would not be owned or affiliated with the military, but rather the Air Force would like to be a customer.

“I would really like to see investments from the petroleum and coal industries working collaboratively with government to establish a commercial space-based solar power enterprise to provide safe, clean energy to electric companies and co-ops,” Smith said. “This comes at a time when environmental concerns about carbon are going to cost a lot in fees.”

When Smith was assigned the project a decade ago, he was working at the Pentagon.

“We were supposed to solve the world’s energy crisis through an alternative energy source that was not only clean, but safe,” Smith said. “So that’s when I decided to lead the first crowd-sourcing study on the Internet to gather ideas.”

Smith invited the world’s best minds to contribute ideas and theories in an open forum. His boss didn’t take to the idea at first.

“’We’re the Department of Defense, we don’t do studies on the open Internet,’ he said, but he changed his mind, because this was too important of an idea,” Smith explained.

Within a month, Smith had received more than 200 responses from space scientists, engineers, businesses, lawyers, insurance companies, satellite designers and those from Maxwell looking to help in the process.

What they came up with hopes to reassert the U.S. as a leader not only in space, but also in energy production and other technologies, as well as fight climate change, create jobs and make the U.S. a clean energy exporter.

Smith, who teaches at Air University's School of Advanced Air and Space Power Studies and Lt. Col. Peter Garretson at Air Command and Staff College – both at Maxwell – brought the team together to include Air University's Center for Space Innovation, Department of State Bureau of Energy Implementation, Defense Advanced Projects Agency, Joint Staff Logistics Directorate, the Naval Research Laboratory, with industry stakeholders Mankins Space Technology Inc. and Northrop Grumman.

Even if the concept is selected on Jan. 25, however, it may be another decade before production begins.

“It’s going to be a crawl, walk, run process … There’s a lot of moving pieces to be considered,” Smith said.